Vietnam in spring with 3yo

[zuzkah]

Hi there, hoping to get a piece of advice about Vietnam. My dh, ds 3 yo and me are moving to Oz (from London) and want to have a nice 3 weeks holiday on the way. We were thinking of Vietnam, maybe Hoi An? Has anyone been? Where to stay? What airlines fly there? Is it safe? Any ideas where else to stay in Vietnam? I thought it would be nice to combine a beach holiday with something in the mountains.
Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks

No experience, but I have a friend who went over there for 2 weeks with her young children, including a 3yo, and had a good time. Bit more purposeful her visit as she was adopted from Vietnam so was part of a "returning" group of adoptees.

Good luck. I'd suggest a travel agent, and a Lonely Planet Guide (if they still publish them?!)

Thank you ragged. we are in two minds now. We might be going for Malaysia, Langkawi. However, thank you for your reply. I think Vietnam would be also good and very interesting. Maybe another time! :)

Vietnam is very interesting but it is very busy, especially in the main cities - Saigon and Hanoi. Mostly very friendly people and they love children. We flew by Cathay pacific - very nice. Got internal flights on Jetstar airways also good.
The lonely planet is very useful.
Hoi An is nice but very, very touristy and you will get stopped a lot with people trying to flog you hand made clothing. Ha -long Bay is gorgeus.
If you want mountains Sapa (North vietnam) is beautiful. Book through an agent when you're out there and get a 4day ish trip. Overnight train plus treks with 'authentic(?)' tribes people, who are all lovely but will want you to spend a lot of money.
Suppose it depends on what you want from your holiday. There are very nice hotels which would make your trip very comfortable.